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Alamogordo boys one win from state qualification

Girls fall, but senior doubles duo shines

Alamogordo Daily NewsBy Kyle Newman Sports Writer

Posted:
04/25/2013 08:58:52 PM MDT

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Senior Lisette Dominguez uses her backhand to return a Las Cruces serve during the No. 2 doubles match on Tuesday. Dominguez and senior Taylor Guinn came out with a 6-3, 6-3 victory for the girls lone win of the day.

The boys' victory put the squad one win away from qualifying for the state tournament as a team, with the deciding match to come on Tuesday at Gadsden. With Mayfield already having qualified, Tuesday's winner will nab the other district bid to state.

"It's been talked about by other people that this is the year for Gadsden (to make state)," Head Coach Carl Jones said. "I've been thinking all year that is the year for Alamo."

Since losing to Mayfield 8-1 on April 16, the Tiger boys have won their past two matches by a combined score of 15-3. This recent dominance can be attributed to a variety of factors.

"We're just staying consistent, hitting the ball deep and trying to get to the net as much as we can to try to force the other players to make mistakes," said junior Tyler Koehler, who won his doubles match with freshman Cody Moezzi 6-3, 6-1 and then triumphed 6-1, 6-1 in his singles affair.

Yet Koehler noted there's still room for improvement for the boys as they approach their biggest match of the season.

"We tend to get too tense on the second serve, like we get nervous that we're going to double fault," Koehler said. "We just need to stay relaxed."

For the girls, the lone bright spot came via a 6-3, 6-3 No. 2 doubles victory by seniors Taylor Guinn and Lisette Dominguez.

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According to Jones, the pair figures to be a serious contender to nab one of the three qualifying spots for the state tournament at the upcoming district tournament in Las Cruces.

"We definitely need to beat Gadsden next week, and then the district tournament is May 4," Guinn said. "And depending on who we play against (there), we need to get a couple wins to guarantee us a spot."

But just like the boys squad, Guinn and Dominguez haven't let their recent successes cloud the fact that they can always get better.

"I can improve in every single little aspect," Guinn said. "Compared to the other double teams that we've been playing, my serve isn't as strong as the other girls. My receiving isn't very good. And what we tend to do is we'll start off good, and then we'll start giving away games that they did not earn."

As both teams head into the final few weeks of the season, the Tigers are tightening up their focus and upping the intensity in practice.

"This past week, practices have been a little bit harder and people have been focusing more because they're seeing that weeks and days are counting down until when state's going to be," Guinn said.

The dwindling sand in the hourglass of the season is especially relevant to seniors such as Guinn, for whom the sun is setting on their high school athletic career.

"I'm starting to realize that this is going to be the last sport I ever play in high school, so it's getting a little emotional," Guinn said. "Lisette and I have been working really hard because we realize that the days are counting down."

But the Tigers can't get too nostalgic just yet.

On the girls' side, inexperienced Alamogordo will continue to value each second spent out on the court during the final stretch.

"I've got four seniors, but we're pretty young experience-wise," Jones said. "You get a lot of teams where the kids have been playing tennis from the minute they've been able to walk. I think, at max, the person with the most experience (on the girls team) has probably been playing for four years."

And overall, Jones reiterated that each individual must have high self-confidence in order to bring success to the Tigers at the all-important Gadsden match next week.

"You've got to go out there and believe that you have the opportunity to win at any point in time," Jones said. "You can't rely on your buddy... As long as you take care of your business, the team will take care of each other."

Play against the Panthers will begin at 3 p.m. in Anthony on Tuesday.Contact Kyle Newman at knewman@alamogordonews.com and follow him on Twitter @KG_Newms